Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas
The New York Islanders face the Calgary Flames with both teams looking to improve on strong seasons. The Islanders have a 22-16-2 record and are in the middle of the Metropolitan Division while the Flames have an 18-14-7 record and are in the middle of the Pacific Division. Both teams are looking to improve in their divisions and their playoff position, making the upcoming game a pivotal one for both teams.
The Islanders are having a great season with their offense stepping up and scoring 3.23 goals per game. Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson have scored 25 goals and 53 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has also stepped up. Anders Lee, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Zach Parise have combined for 35 goals and 35 assists while defenseman Noah Dobson has added 10 goals and 14 assists from the point to open up the offense.
The offense has been great but the defense has carried the Islanders, allowing only 2.67 goals per game. Ryan Pulock and Alexander Romanov have combined for 4.6 defensive point shares and 144 blocked shots while Noah Dobson and Scott Mayfield have combined for 3.6 defensive point shares to give the Islanders two great defensive pairings. In addition, goaltender Semyon Varlamov has stepped up in the net with a .919 save percentage and a 2.65 goals-against aver age on 381 shots.